Page 35 of Hell's Claim

“No old lady flowers then.”

“Is that a thing?” Sunny asked, and the girl laughed again.

“No. I was teasing you. How big do you want to go?”

“Enough to attract her attention, but not too big it frightens her,” Sunny replied.

“Okay. Would you like to wait?” the woman—her name badge said Lilac—inquired as she rounded the counter and began picking flowers.

“No. Do you deliver?”

“Yes, if you want to pop to the soaps and candle shop, it’s called Heavenly Delights and add a gift bag to your order, we’ll deliver that too,” Lilac offered.

“Thanks,” Sunny replied and headed in that direction.

???

One hundred and fifty bucks lighter, Sunny hoped Callie would enjoy her gifts. He’d signed the card with a simple message. ‘See you soon, Sunny.’ That would get Callie wondering.

As he walked to his bike, he paused as he saw a man watching him. Sunny’s eyes narrowed; the guy looked familiar, but Sunny couldn’t place him. He turned away and disappeared into the crowd. Sunny frowned but carried on toward his Harley. He switched his mind to the problem of the traitor. It was time to check in with his team.

???

“You can rule out Chance, Bear, Big Al, Rooster, Diesel, Chatter, and Celt,” Solace stated.

“Sure?”

“Yeah, we’ve followed them for several months, they ain’t dirty,” Acker’s replied.

“We haven’t cleared many,” Sunny mused.

“Nope. But you’ve got us focussing on one person at a time. And we’re taking it in shifts to watch them. They might not do anything illegal at once, which is why we guessed we’d need at least four to five months watching them,” Diaz explained.

“Acker, have you picked any scuttlebutt up as a candidate?”

“No, but some of them are fuckin’ assholes. If Hellfire vote for them to prospect, you’re idiots,” Acker’s replied.

“Give me names at the end of the meeting. I’ll make sure I vote nay,” Sunny said.

“We’re getting there, Sunny, but you knew it would take time,” Diaz added.

“We’ve got Shee, Levi, Pyro, Tiny, and Shotgun left,” Solace mused, tapping her finger on the list.

“Still too many to point the finger at.” Sunny sighed.

“You got a gut feeling or something?” Acker’s asked.

“They all know why I am back. I’m feeling the pressure,” Sunny admitted.

“If we speed up the surveillance, we risk missing something. I’m pretty sure we can clear Pyro from the list, but boy does he have a fucking secret,” Solace muttered.

“He has an alter-ego called Justice? Figured that one out myself.” Sunny shook his head in disbelief and discovering that little gem.

“The man is fucked, but if he weren’t messing with the guilty who the law let off, I’d have a problem. As it is, justice is being wrought, not got a problem with that,” Diaz commented.

“Do we keep going? You’re paying us for this, and it’s costing a fortune,” Ashford asked.

“I got money. That ain’t an issue. This has been hanging over my head for twenty years. I just need to know who it is,” Sunny replied.

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